H&M Triggers Online Outrage Over Fashion Failure

A good editor can see when something can be interpreted as sexual or worse. Someone missed a huge implication when choosing a model for a child’s sweatshirt.

International fashion house H&M issued an apology after their online store showed a black male model wearing a hooded sweatshirt with the words, “coolest monkey in the jungle” on the front.

"We sincerely apologize for offending people with this image of a printed hooded top," H&M said in a statement to USA Today. "The image has been removed from all online channels and the product will not be for sale in the United States. We believe in diversity and inclusion in all that we do and will be reviewing all our internal policies accordingly to avoid any future issues."

The photograph created waves of criticism online with people posting everything from their outrage over being offended and the insensitive portrayal to memes and GIFs posted showing people facepalming and making fun of the store for its bad decision.